Did English archers use thumb rings?

Question

Essex Dogs by Dan Jones describes in passing English or Welsh archers ¹ using thumb rings during the hundred year's war.

I can find (unreliable) references to Roman thumb rings, and certainly the Romans encountered Asiatic archers, so it is not implausible. And Western European archers would have encountered Huns (plus the crusades). It is quite plausible.

But I've found no record of Asiatic/thumb draw in any of my sources on English Archery. I'm reluctant to conclude that absence of evidence is evidence of absence.

Is there a fundamental reason why Western/English archers preferred the Mediterranean draw?

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¹ I listened to it in an audio book which makes it very difficult to go back and check. I think the reference is to the English archer, but even the Welsh archers are fighting (most of the time) in support of the English army. It is also possible that I misunderstood a reference to an ornamental ring as a reference to an archer's thumb ring.

Answer 1

Is there a fundamental reason why Western/English archers preferred the Mediterranean draw?

I don't know or can't find reliable sources, but as an archer for decades, I can see a good and practical reason why they wouldn't prefer the Mongolian draw (or the Asian thumb draw) because it is far less easy to learn, and mostly intended for use by mounted archers (for that, it has a different draw length¹, and the arrow is placed differently):

Having the ability to better hold the arrow in place is ideal for mounted archers who have to contend with the vibrations and movements of their mounts. Archery Thumb Rings: Eastern Draw

As early western armies mainly used peasants/poor as archers, bowmen fought on foot. They needed little training as they already were using bows to hunt, and often were required to be trained on archery (with a Mediterranean draw they knew/were taught with). Of course, armies fought foreigners, and probably learnt their opponent's methods/strategies, as well as travelers who brought back hunting/fighting technique, but it must have been marginal amongst archers.

^{1. Archers using the Mongolian draw are placing their draw hand near their front shoulder, cheek, ear, or past their face. It usually extends the draw.}